Some conditions of the influence of syntactical structure on learning: Grammatical transformation, learning instructions, and “chunking”

Abstract

The effects of syntax on learning were examined in a factorial design which included four factors: Structure, structured and unstructured; syntactical sample, active verb, passive and nominalization; chunking, explicitly specified vs. unspecified; and learning instructions, intentional and incidental. The objectives of the study were (a) to test the generality of previous findings by using a variety of grammatical samples, (b) to determine whether syntactical structure facilitates learning in the absence of intentional learning instructions, and (c) to test the “chunking” hypothesis as an account of the facilitation produced by syntax. The following were the chief findings. The main effects of structure, syntactical sample, and instructions were significant. Structured material was learned better than unstructured material, to the same degree for the three syntactical samples; the latter ranked AV, PA, and NO in order of increasing difficulty. There was a Structure × Instructions interaction. Structured material was easier only when accompanied by intentional learning instructions. The main effect of the chunking variable was not significant. Chunking did interact both with the structure and the instruction variable, but not in a manner that supported the chunking hypothesis.